Nile Delta, Egypt

The contrast between the lush vegetation of the Nile delta and river course and the dry sand of the Sahara can be seen spectacularly in this enhanced true color MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) image. The grey area to the bottom of the "triangle" of the delta is Egypt's capital, Cairo. On the border between Israel and Jordan is the Dead Sea, at 412m below the level of the Mediterranean, the lowest point on earth. The Dead Sea also has salinity 10 times that of the Mediterranean, and due to the high evaporation rate in the area, salt accumulates, and can be extracted, as can be seen in the southern part of this large inland lake. The lighter blue/green areas are increased evaporite deposits, in this case salt. We can also see the structure of the saltpans crossed vertically by a canal. In the image detail, just the Nile delta itself is shown, but this time in MERIS bands to enhance the spectral difference over land and to show up the sedimentation from the delta into the Mediterranean. Looking closely we can see the different channels of the Nile cutting their way towards the sea. The black areas represent cities on the shores of the channels; El Mansure, Tanta and El Mahalla el Kubra are the three cities in the center of the delta, with Cairo again clearly visible at the base. The blue plume offshore is caused by sediment from the river being pumped into the sea.